Environment

Under pressure from environmental groups, the Tanzanian government seemed to have backed down, at least for now, from endorsing a proposed soda ash factory near Lake Natron in Arusha that could have threaten the survival of lesser flamingos.

Following a meeting last week between the Tanzanian ministry of environment, National Environmental Management Council (NEMC) and 14 environmental conservation groups, it has been reported that the soda ash project has been thrown out pending further environmental studies by the developer, Lake Natron Resources.

Lake Natron Resources, a joint venture between National Development Corporation (NDC) and Tata Chemicals, a subsidiary of Indian conglomerate Tata Group, was planning a $400 USD investment to extract 500,000 tons of soda ash from the lake every year. Soda ash, or sodium carbonate, is an important ingredient in the making of glass, detergent, textile processing, metal refining, cosmetics, paper pulp and other industrial goods. On their corporate website, Tata Chemicals claims that they are recognized as “one of the most energy efficient and environmentally responsible companies in India.”

The decision to stop this project on its track and reevaluate its environmental concerns is a crucial victory to all those who would like to see sustainability issues take center stage in investment decision making process.

What are your thoughts? Are you happy with the decision to stop this project or would you like it to proceed? Do you think the economic benefits of the project are more important that the environmental concerns?